Family fights on for James, 13, after Wednesbury crash

The youngster had been playing out with friends after school on April 24, when he was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing on the A461 High Bullen in Wednesbury.

Eight months on, the teenager is continuing his recovery.

His mother Amanda Knight said: "The last words I said to him before he went out were, make sure you're careful. He said that I worried too much.

"About 30 minutes later I got a phone call from one of my daughters saying his friends had been round and said he had been hit by a van," said the mother-of-three from Booth Road, Wednesbury.

"I made my way to the crossing as quickly as I could. He was already on a stretcher when I got there ready to go in the air ambulance and I got in with him."

The Wodensborough Community Technology College pupil remained in Birmingham Children's hospital for four months, with his family by his side. His dad Jason, 45, slept next to him every night in a camp bed.

In August he was fit enough to be moved and began receiving treatment at the Children's Trust in Surrey.

The 43-year-old said: "The crash has changed all of our lives forever. After the crash James couldn't do anything for himself. "He is still tube-fed and unable to walk or speak and has to use a communication board. But bit by bit he is recovering and is still the lad he was before. He's making progress, but it's slow."

After the crash the driver of the van was interviewed by police and later released without charge.

Now the family have launched a petition to ask for the case to be properly reviewed and the case re-opened. Mrs Knight said: "We don't really know what happened."

The family have also been fundraising, through James' oldest sister Leanne, 26, in hope of raising money for more physiotherapy when James returns home

To donate money to James' cause or sign the petition visit the Facebook group